How to Boost Sales with Better Packaging

When it comes to buying a new product, we are often seduced by the packaging. Most notably, by the colour and the materials used in that packaging.

So why does certain packaging attract us to buy a product? Well, it all comes down to psychology and, in particular, how colour choices made by a company can inspire us to invest in that product. Indeed, just by changing your packaging slightly, you can increase your sales in no time at all.

Take British food company Gressingham Foods, which sells packaged duck through supermarkets. The problem was, the British public were not buying into the product and Gressingham knew they had to make a major change or risk going out of business.

The company – very sensibly – chose to change their packaging as they believed the main problem with their sales was due to people not being confident in how to prepare and cook duck at home.

To combat this doubt, Gressingham introduced a bold and simple step guide to the perfect duck dinner. All this was contained on a black and yellow bold, graphic sleeve. Black is a colour associated with money and this appealed to home cooks that like to cook a fancy dinner or the weekend. Even better, black is associated with confidence, which sought to improve people’s apprehensions on cooking duck themselves. This was echoed in the yellow, a colour that inspires happiness and optimism.

The change was hugely successful, with the company seeing sales increased by an astonishing 47%. A success that you could echo if you change your current packaging. If you’re unsure how you could improve your current packaging, here are a few simple changes you can make to help boost your sales:

1. Add to Customer Experience with Your Packaging

These days, consumers want more for their buck. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling pin badges on Etsy or luxury clothing via your own website, the way that package arrives to your customers is incredibly important for sales.

We’re living in an age where people document their entire lives to the public, which includes hundreds of YouTube channels entirely dedicated to unboxing their purchases. So, by adding a little extra to your packaging, you add to the excitement – making people more likely to share your product on social media and, crucially, making them more likely to buy from you again.

Adding to your packaging can be relatively simple, the main idea is to please the consumer that you’re trying to sell to. For fun products, think about adding stickers or sweet treats – whatever you add needs to be bright and fun. Orange can be particularly good for a fun or humorous product as it as it reminds people of their childhood. Even something as simple as bright, rainbow-coloured confetti can bring joy to a consumer.

For more luxury brands, adding a nice box with good-quality tissue paper can really add to this feel of luxuriousness. Black or purple can be are good choices for a luxury brand. However, if your target market is male, avoid purple as this is often seen as a feminine colour that men will avoid.

This doesn’t need to just be for online retailers though, think of luxury brands that give customers their products in equally as luxurious bags to carry. These bags should be thought of as advertising for your brand, as people will keep, cherish and post them all over social media.

2. Hone Your Packaging to Your Target Market  

As a society, we’re all trying to be more environmentally friendly. This has been echoed in the packaging choices of numerous companies, who are aiming to home their products in a more sustainable way. This is particularly important if your product is targeted towards environmentally conscious people.

Take, for instance, your product is food-based. Are you using black plastic, which is notoriously hard to recycle? Many supermarkets are taking the steps to remove this type of plastic from their shelves and large companies like Evian have pledged to ensure all their water will be bottled in 100% recycled plastic by 2025.  

This movement is still new so, if you think your target market would appreciate environmentally-friendly packaging, take the steps now to change your packaging as many of your competitors won’t have changed yet. This can give you a significant boost to your sales, being one of few companies providing in recyclable materials.

This isn’t exclusive to companies producing food, it’s a savvy move for any company. Even better, echo this move in the colour of the packaging you choose. The obvious choice here is green, as this is associated with calmness and the environment, however, whites – purity – and blues – trust and dependability – can also work very well with eco-packaging.

3. Match Your Colours to Your Product

It’s been mentioned before that colour is imperative in your packaging, but it’s important to reiterate this, as the psychology of colours to boost sales is fundamental.

Before deciding on any packaging – or even your company branding and logo – it is essential that you know the market you are targeting your products to and the colours you can use to enhance your sales.

For example, if your product is a go-to grab snack that is likely to be housed near the cash registers in a shop, you need colours that will attract consumers to buy it. If you’re trying to promote a healthy snack, try using ‘colours of the Earth’ such as brown and green. These colours signify health and well-being and are a popular choice for companies such as Graze as people looking to eat well will be attracted to this packaging. It’s also important to note that Graze use cardboard packaging that is biodegradable, which matches the ethos of their customer base.

If you’re product is a more impulse buy, red and yellow are you go-to colours. Red is associated with passion, hunger and excitement to name a few. Yellow, on the other hand, can give off the feelings of happiness and optimism. This, in combination, is perfect for fast food, which is why many big companies such as McDonalds and Wendy’s use these colours to attract in their customers – very successfully!

To match your brand to a colour, think about what feelings you want to spark in your customers and, from that you can find one or two colours that match those feelings.

Packaging is almost as important as the product you’re selling. Just like style to a person, your branding is like the clothing of your company. If you don’t dress it well then you won’t attract the customers you want. Colour here is your most important choice, but it’s also important that you look at material trends and what you can do to wow your customers, too.